Mr. PIERCE. I saw that the gate was across the corridor, as it should
be. I was on the first floor, a matter of walking about as far as from
here, a little further to the wall, and I didn’t walk up to it prior to
the shooting to see that it was locked, but it was in place and latched.
Mr. HUBERT. Could have been open?
Mr. PIERCE. It was locked. That lock--when that latch was engaged, it
was in place, latched.
Mr. HUBERT. From what you could see of it, then--although you didn’t
come up to it, but came to within a distance, which I suggest to you
now from the reference you made a moment ago was about 40 feet, 30 feet?
Mr. PIERCE. 60 foot, probably.
Mr. HUBERT. You came to within 60 feet of it, and you saw that the
latch was in?
Mr. PIERCE. In place and latched, and in that position the door is
locked.
Mr. HUBERT. It is locked and you would need a key to open it?
Mr. PIERCE. That is my sworn statement.
Mr. HUBERT. Right. And you did not open it?
Mr. PIERCE. I never saw it open at any time.
Mr. HUBERT. And you did not open it yourself?
Mr. PIERCE. No; but like I say; I checked it, but it was after we knew
that everything had happened, and all of sudden, security got to be of
such an utmost importance, or the urgency of security was such that I
pulled on it to see if it was, but when you said, “prior to,”--prior
to that time, I hadn’t, but I do know it was latched at that time. Was
actually locked when I checked it manually to see if for some peculiar
reason the latch was open.
Mr. HUBERT. What you are saying, in effect, is that while you actually
tugged on the door after the shooting and found it to be locked, that
your check of it prior to the shooting was visual, but that in your
opinion it was in a position that it was locked?
Mr. PIERCE. It is impossible for it not to have been locked.
Mr. HUBERT. It is impossible for it not to have been locked, and that
was--that check was made prior to the shooting?
Mr. PIERCE. Prior.
Mr. HUBERT. How much prior? Do you know?
Mr. PIERCE. That would be difficult to say just exactly how much prior,
but it was--to give an actual time on it, of course, when we went to
the main floor, the first floor on the elevator prior to the shooting,
in this corridor, that is a four-way corridor there. There is an
information desk sits right in the intersection of the two corridors,
and the several elevators is in the corridor that leads--that is the
reason I say it takes a little describing because it was facing that
corridor and that gate when you get off the elevator, and that was
9:30, probably 9:30.
Mr. HUBERT. All right, now, what other way is it possible to go from
the first floor of the municipal building into the police building?
Mr. PIERCE. From the first floor to the police building, the only
way from the first floor that you can get into the police and courts
building is to leave the municipal building first floor, that is the
only way you can get to it.
Mr. HUBERT. And go where?
Mr. PIERCE. And go either outside on the--only other way you can get
to it is to go outside on either Main Street or Commerce Street and go
down to the police and courts building and use one of their entrances,
or take the service elevator down to the basement, which you have the
model here, and walk across that garage area and the ramp area to the
basement. Two ways, but no other way you can get there from the first
floor.
Mr. HUBERT. About--what about the fire escape stairs?
Mr. PIERCE. No fire escape.